EU lifts virus travel curbs for Bahrain, UAE

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Union on Friday added Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its free travel list, granting entry to their citizens regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status.

With the two new additions, people from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Jordan, Kuwait, New Zealand, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine, the UAE, and Uruguay can travel to the EU for non-essential purposes.

The same will apply for China if Beijing grants the same rights to EU citizens, the bloc said.

The travel list applies to the 27 EU states and the four non-EU members of the Schengen zone – Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The list is only considered to be a recommendation and EU governments can make exceptions for visitors from other countries or restrict entry for unvaccinated travelers from those on the list.